8/22/2017

Strange, uniquely diverse...Nakano is a Totally different world in Tokyo.

Ever since I've moved to Tokyo, this huge metropolis has never got me tired of exploring one city to another. Last weekend, I cycled to Nakano Station. Despite it takes only a few minutes from a massive business city Shinjuku, it provides relatively local and traditional streets and tiny cafes and shops here and there. So why don't we take a look at it? :)

Right in front of the north gate of Nakano station, we can see a long shopping arcade "Nakano Sun Mall (中野サンモール)". With 224m street, it's a home for 110 shops, and you can find anything you want. A friend of mine and I went to a famous local bakery, then headed to a modern, sophisticated cafe to take a little break. Okay, it's time to go into a deeper world in Nakano...

Another arcade area "Nakano Broadway 中野ブロードウェイ" has four level and basement, which is filled with tiny sores mainly for Anime, Manga, old records and so forth. Well, I love this kind of parallel-world-style atmosphere, with weird balconies and fake sky on the roof along the arcade. Wow, everything is chaotic, and so attractive even for a person like me, who isn't particularly interested in subcultures.

For those who want to stroll around to experience food in tiny restaurants, there are so many of them available around arcades. Ordinary it's not that expensive, and I recommend to drop in at some places to eat :) Me? well, I had a ball meal Takoyaki (たこ焼き), which contains a slice of octopus inside. Dipped with seasonal sour sauce on the bench in a park it was a perfect weekend to me ;)